Ruth Gamble

Ruth Gamble is a Senior Lecturer in History at La Trobe University’s Department of Archaeology and History, School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She specializes in environmental, cultural, and climate history of Tibet, the Himalayas, and Asia. Her research integrates ecological politics, sacred geography, and historical narratives.

• Key Books: Rivers of the Asian Highlands (2025), Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism (2018), Master of Mahamudra (2020)
• Current Projects: History of the Yarlung Tsangpo River through five biographies (8th–20th centuries)

Research Interests span environmental history, water governance, climate change, political ecology, and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. She examines how ecological transformations intersect with geopolitics and cultural narratives, particularly in transboundary river systems.

Recent Publications focus on Himalayan hydropolitics, sacred landscapes, and climate crisis pedagogy. She co-authored Rivers of the Asian Highlands, analyzing highland-lowland interactions from deep time to modern climate challenges.

Scientific Awards include the David Myers Research Fellowship and ARC DECRA Fellowship. Her funded projects address Himalayan cryosphere history, river sand mining in South Asia, and Tibet’s river trajectories under the Anthropocene.

• Teaching: Environmental history, Asian environmental history, and Tibetan language studies
• Leadership: Deputy Director of La Trobe Asia